Melo should be forever grateful if Nuggets get him to New York

Carmelo Anthony laughs it up on the bench against OKC on Tuesday. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

If Carmelo Anthony ends up with the New York Knicks, he should bend over backward to thank a franchise that not only reluctantly let their superstar go, but waited and fulfilled his every wish to do so.

That will have been a big-time classy move by the Nuggets, my friends.

Anthony could be in New Jersey right this minute. And while that would be fine with him, particularly since the team has plans to move to Brooklyn in the near future, it just wouldn’t be the Knicks. Anthony loves playing in The Garden. He says it every time he goes to New York for a game, and he’ll say it again in December, if he’s still a Nugget by then.

One of the most overblown aspects of this entire story has been the willingness of many to interpret Anthony’s words of fondness for playing in The Garden into meaning he wanted to play for the Knicks. But he does.

And Melo could be headed there. Soon.

The Knicks play in Denver on Nov. 16. What if Anthony were in Knicks blue for that one?

He should bring the team a gift basket. The best offer the Nuggets could act on was the New Jersey offer. The team has tried to do its due diligence since then, scouring the league for more lucrative offers, and you know what that’s turned up? The New Jersey deal was the best deal that could actually happen.

But it’s also given time for the Knicks to be creative, and that’s what that organization is trying to be right now. It’s no secret that they didn’t have all of the necessary assets required to be a serious player in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes at the start. But give enterprising people like Donnie Walsh, Knicks president of basketball operations, enough time, and they’ll put the pieces of the puzzle together and make it work.

And so ‘making it work’ has definite faces: Eddy Curry (expiring contract), Anthony Randolph and Danilo Gallinari (both good young talent?) and a first-round pick from somewhere else.

This would be a Carmelo-centic deal. The player would get everything he wants, but you get the feeling the Nuggets get only part of what they want and, most importantly, need. The first-round pick is good. The expiring contract is nice to have for future signing purposes, although there’s nothing extra intriguing out there in at least the next two free agent summers. The players, however, you can take-or-leave, and that’s not the value the Nuggets need in return. Allowing for the fact that the team will not ever get equal or close to equal value for Anthony, it should at least grab one young player that can be an integral part of the new core going forward. I’ve seen Anthony Randolph score in bunches at times, and Gallinari flaunt what can be a deadly 3-point stroke, but neither strikes as being cornerstone-type players.

One reason why that’s important: It chops down on the time it takes to jump back into the pack of relevant teams.

This will be a process; there is no doubt about it, and everyone wants it to be as fast as possible. Anthony’s departure will mean the impending departure of others as well as the Nuggets strip down to a foundation they want to build from. Makes it easier if there are one – or two – fewer players they’d need to draft to attain that goal. There’s a hitting-the-ground-running aspect to it that can happen if at least one player coming back is prime-time or has the obvious potential to be prime-time with the right coaching.

So while the Nuggets would be generous to give Anthony what he wants and the Knicks would beam because they got the player they wanted, the Nuggets must also make sure that when all the food is being taken they aren’t simply left with scraps.

The extra draft pick from Jersey was the only enticing part of that deal. Derrick Favors is a stiff – – a wonderful, young athletic power forward who can run the court like a gazelle, but can’t shoot, dribble or pass. You gotta be kidding me – – the New Jersey deal would be a terrible deal for the Nuggets.

jbreezy

This is a terrible trade! If we take on curry I’ll be extremely upset…. half our team is on expiring contracts… including melo, letting melo walk at the end of the year is a way better deal than this… gallo and randolph are both scrubs and I for one don’t want either of these guys. This deal makes the nets deal look awesome! At least we could get a legit baller in t-will and a young big man in favors. If we do make a deal with new York the management has to make one thing clear: we will NOT take Eddie curry!!!!!

jbreezy

This is a terrible trade! If we take on curry I’ll be extremely upset…. half our team is on expiring contracts… including melo, letting melo walk at the end of the year is a way better deal than this… gallo and randolph are both scrubs and I for one don’t want either of these guys. This deal makes the nets deal look awesome! At least we could get a legit baller in t-will and a young big man in favors. If we do make a deal with new York the management has to make one thing clear: we will NOT take Eddie curry!!!!!

Keepin’ it Real

Jbreezy, I heard Eddie Curry has an expiring contract as well and that would be the only reason the Nuggets would take him, to dump him. This is going to happen, Melo and more imporatantly, La La wants to be in NY so that is where he will end up. The Nets deal will not go through because Melo won’t sign the contract and the Nets need him to sign the contract before they make that trade he after this yer Melo walks on them to sign with NY.

shakur555

Please trade Melo to the NY. I would love to see him and Stoudamire play against the NBA best in the garden.

shakur555

Please trade Melo to the NY. I would love to see him and Stoudamire play against the NBA best in the garden.

Jaxhenry123

Trade him to New York. Maybe he needs to sit at home watching other teams play in the play-offs. Once he is in New York, losing all the time, he will wish he was back in Denver where he was treated like a king.

Jaxhenry123

Trade him to New York. Maybe he needs to sit at home watching other teams play in the play-offs. Once he is in New York, losing all the time, he will wish he was back in Denver where he was treated like a king.

Jsedillo53

I will be sad to see Mello go. As a life long Nuggets fan, it has been nice to be relevent in the Western Conferance. I do not like the mentioned trading chips we would be getting from the Knicks. With the NJ deal, at least Favors is a young (19 years old) prospect who would help a debiltated front court. The first round pick(s) are a plus as well, since there is not much to chose from in the 2011 free agent class. The Knicks package is garbge, and does not allow the Nuggets to build around much of anything. If need be, keep Mello for the rest of the season and try to climb that W/C Mt. one more time!

Jsedillo53

I will be sad to see Mello go. As a life long Nuggets fan, it has been nice to be relevent in the Western Conferance. I do not like the mentioned trading chips we would be getting from the Knicks. With the NJ deal, at least Favors is a young (19 years old) prospect who would help a debiltated front court. The first round pick(s) are a plus as well, since there is not much to chose from in the 2011 free agent class. The Knicks package is garbge, and does not allow the Nuggets to build around much of anything. If need be, keep Mello for the rest of the season and try to climb that W/C Mt. one more time!

repthelou

What the hell is Dempsy talking about. Melo is not going anywhere he does not want to go. No one makes this deal until he agrees to sign the extension. No extension no trade as simple as that. The nuggs are not hooking Melo up. In case you have not noticed Favors is not even playing starter minutes as a #3 pick in NJ. You want to build the franchise around this guy? Upside or not, a #3 needs to be good enough to be a starter in NJ today. The blame here is Kronke for not spending. It takes lots of talent to win rings, and he was not willing to spend it. We were a big man away from being special and Kronke brought in Malik Allen. That shows his committ to winning championships. Malik Allen? I still shake my head at that one. And for good measure Sheldon Randolph. You need more talent, not potiential talent, there a big difference. Lastly, Melo came in Denver as a 19 yo kid, on a team that won 18 games, with no superstar in place. You think he is sacred of his chances in NYC. Much better prospect than Denver in 2003.

repthelou

What the hell is Dempsy talking about. Melo is not going anywhere he does not want to go. No one makes this deal until he agrees to sign the extension. No extension no trade as simple as that. The nuggs are not hooking Melo up. In case you have not noticed Favors is not even playing starter minutes as a #3 pick in NJ. You want to build the franchise around this guy? Upside or not, a #3 needs to be good enough to be a starter in NJ today. The blame here is Kronke for not spending. It takes lots of talent to win rings, and he was not willing to spend it. We were a big man away from being special and Kronke brought in Malik Allen. That shows his committ to winning championships. Malik Allen? I still shake my head at that one. And for good measure Sheldon Randolph. You need more talent, not potiential talent, there a big difference. Lastly, Melo came in Denver as a 19 yo kid, on a team that won 18 games, with no superstar in place. You think he is sacred of his chances in NYC. Much better prospect than Denver in 2003.

Sandyluna

The Nuggets are still a top-tier team. I say give it one more run with the guys you have in place, and if the knucklehead leaves at the end of the season to play for the hapless Knicks, then so be it. I have no interest in crappy leftovers and expiring contracts from the Knicks. Give me a 50+ win season and a playoff run and let the chips fall where they may. Next year I will watch Stoudamire and Carmelo play matador D and win 35 games for the Knicks. Exactly what they deserve.

Sandyluna

The Nuggets are still a top-tier team. I say give it one more run with the guys you have in place, and if the knucklehead leaves at the end of the season to play for the hapless Knicks, then so be it. I have no interest in crappy leftovers and expiring contracts from the Knicks. Give me a 50+ win season and a playoff run and let the chips fall where they may. Next year I will watch Stoudamire and Carmelo play matador D and win 35 games for the Knicks. Exactly what they deserve.

DH

I’m not the cynical type, but if you think the Nuggets would trade Melo to NY in order to be “classy” or nice, you’re crazy. They will trade him to NY if it’s the best deal they can get and/or if they feel like they have no other options. They will do what’s best for the team, like Melo will do what’s best for Melo. Period.

For those bashing on Favors, of course he’s not doing well right now. He’s wasn’t supposed to be good for two or three years. He will be a beast and we will regret not having him if we end up with someone like Randolph or Gallinari, instead. The ESPN article that says the Knicks are getting closer to trading for Melo also says this: “New Jersey has faded from the Anthony sweepstakes, growing disinclined to include rookie Derrick Favors in a trade.” In other words, the team that spends every day with Derrick Favors knows that his value is enormous, no matter how he is playing in his first preseason.

DH

I’m not the cynical type, but if you think the Nuggets would trade Melo to NY in order to be “classy” or nice, you’re crazy. They will trade him to NY if it’s the best deal they can get and/or if they feel like they have no other options. They will do what’s best for the team, like Melo will do what’s best for Melo. Period.

For those bashing on Favors, of course he’s not doing well right now. He’s wasn’t supposed to be good for two or three years. He will be a beast and we will regret not having him if we end up with someone like Randolph or Gallinari, instead. The ESPN article that says the Knicks are getting closer to trading for Melo also says this: “New Jersey has faded from the Anthony sweepstakes, growing disinclined to include rookie Derrick Favors in a trade.” In other words, the team that spends every day with Derrick Favors knows that his value is enormous, no matter how he is playing in his first preseason.

Anonymous

There is a two way street here, if he wants out he should make sure that both sides get good value for the trade. What it appears that the Kincks have to trade at this point is not enough for a good deal for the Nuggets and if they can’t come up with something more and Melo won’t agree to go elsewhere then he’ll probably wind up in Denver the rest of the season with less that good will between himself, the fans and the organization.

I’d like to see him stay, but that isn’t possible. Since he has to go we will need for him to leave our team with a future. If he isn’t willing or able to do that then he isn’t really the class act that we have come to view him as.

Anonymous

There is a two way street here, if he wants out he should make sure that both sides get good value for the trade. What it appears that the Kincks have to trade at this point is not enough for a good deal for the Nuggets and if they can’t come up with something more and Melo won’t agree to go elsewhere then he’ll probably wind up in Denver the rest of the season with less that good will between himself, the fans and the organization.

I’d like to see him stay, but that isn’t possible. Since he has to go we will need for him to leave our team with a future. If he isn’t willing or able to do that then he isn’t really the class act that we have come to view him as.

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.